Abstract
Like in most places around the world, childbirth assistance in Brazil was traditionally performed by women. In 1832, however, a law was passed requiring a license for the exercise of medicine, pharmacy, and midwifery. That event marked the differentiation between the traditional and the modern kind of childbirth assistants, leading to an increasing process of medicalization of birth. Hence, the historiography on the subject has pointed out the appropriation by men of a traditional women’s world. This article seeks to understand the gender dynamics in the birthing room by focusing on the new kind of professional that emerged in Brazil in the early nineteenth century: the “graduated midwife.” To what extent was there cooperation or competition between physicians and graduated midwives? How different were their obstetrical practices? After examining the Annaes Brasiliensis de Medicina—the official publication of the Imperial Academy of Medicine—I argue that the graduated midwife was the historical intermediate in transitioning from traditional midwifery to scientific obstetrics. Finally, I conclude that, as a woman of science, the graduated midwife filled the gap that isolated the female sphere of care from the male sphere of science, paving the road for the entrance of women in medicine in 1879.
Highlights
Obstetrics in Brazil has a date of birth: 18 February 1808
Considering that, in nineteenth-century Brazil, future male physicians and female graduated midwives were educated in the same obstetrics courses at the imperial medical schools, how different were their obstetrical practices? To what extent was there cooperation between physicians and graduated midwives instead of competition? What difference did their gender make in the delivery room, be it inside family homes or hospitals?
As Martins observes, “in Brazil, we have no testimony of a negative reaction to the admission of physicians in the delivery scene” [24] (p. 174)
Summary
Obstetrics in Brazil has a date of birth: 18 February 1808. Threatened by the Napoleonic forces, the Portuguese Crown transferred to Brazil, bringing an extensive court along. Considering that, in nineteenth-century Brazil, future male physicians and female graduated midwives were educated in the same obstetrics courses at the imperial medical schools, how different were their obstetrical practices? Despite having existed for less than one hundred years in Brazil, I show how graduated midwives built a bridge for women to enter the medical profession Through their history, it is possible to infer the difference that gender may—or may not—have made in Brazilian obstetrics. The word “obstetricians” has been chosen for this article’s title because this is what best represents the two kinds of science-educated professionals emerging in Brazil in the early 1800s: the physician and the graduated midwife Since this is not a comparative study, its findings are discussed in the light of the Brazilian historiographical context. The Brazilian case—and its unusual respect for women as knowledgeable professionals—may inspire scholars from different countries to explore their own experiences and peculiarities in the history of childbirth
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